


Warning Sign

by SophiaTomlinson



Series: The Flash Imagines [2]
Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-27
Updated: 2017-03-27
Packaged: 2018-10-11 13:23:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,327
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10466010
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SophiaTomlinson/pseuds/SophiaTomlinson
Summary: You travel back in time to warn your friends of a deadly virus that will wipe out the city in hopes of also saving your boyfriend.





	1. Warning Sign

    You quickly grab onto something as you feel your time machine land on the ground, blinking a few times to try and get your vision back. Short term vision loss is a normal side effect of time travel, but no matter how many times you experience it, you never get used to the feeling of being blind. The moment your vision even remotely comes back, you’re out of your chair and on your way to the outfitter on your ship, quickly getting changed into clothes more appropriate for 2016 and setting off.

When you step out of the ship, you look around and smile, fascinated with the sight of Central City years into the past. The smile on your face sticks as you look around the town, seeing everyone happy and healthy, nothing like in your time. In the year 2027, the time you traveled from, your city is in utter destruction. A deadly virus had broken out, leaving your city destroyed and in a constantly feeling terrified of what could happen next.

If not the virus killing people, it was other people killing people. You never understood what exactly had happened, for when the virus broke out, crime levels quadrupled. Something the quiet and always sunny city had never experienced before. Then you remember why exactly you’re here. You had come back to warn a few certain people about what was going to happen in the future, and you knew exactly where to find them.

When you stepped foot into C.C. Jitters, you hadn’t expected to be hit with such a big wave nostalgia. You sigh as the smell of coffee washes over you, the sights and sounds even adding to the feeling. When you notice the pair, Cisco Ramon and Caitlin Snow, sitting at the table, exactly where you had expected them to be, your breath hitched. You noticed the smallest differences from their future selves, from their hair and clothes, to the body language and the way they talk.

You grab a drink, your favorite, before sitting down at a chair close to them, waiting for the exact time to talk to them. You try not to stare, but fail, as the sight of them makes you remember how times used to be. You quickly look away as you feel your chest tighten up, the thought of seeing him again excited you, but hurt you at the same time. Your eyes well up with tears as you think about him, Barry. Your Barry.

He had got infected with the virus just weeks before the two of you were going to get married. You remember the long hours in the hospital, waiting for him to get better even though you knew he wasn’t, you knew that there was no cure for the virus, you knew he was going to die. You never let yourself believe that though, you had told yourself to stay positive through it all. It didn’t help you at all when he actually passed. You were broken, just a shell of a person without him, and everyone saw that.

You remember spending that next month locked up in your apartment. You kept telling everyone that it was so you didn’t get infected, but you knew that they didn’t believe you. You were locked up there so that no one would see you broken. No one would see you crying, barely eating, sleep all the time. That’s what you did, a never ending cycle of slowly destroying yourself, before Cisco and Caitlin had dragged you out.

That’s when you made it your mission to save him. You were going to come back to a time where they had plenty of time to come up with a cure. You were going to save your fiancé and the whole city. Making it here was the easy part, now it was to convince them to help without giving away too much of the future.

You shake your head, crinkling your eyes and wiping them, before glancing at the time and realizing that it’s time. You watch as the pair get up, moving to walk out of the cafe. You wait for them to reach the door, before quickly getting up and rushing after them, following them the whole way back to S.T.A.R Labs. You weave through the people, keeping up with them while still keeping a good distance so they don’t notice.

When you reach your destination, you begin to hide more. You silently thank yourself for learning how to move quickly and quietly, which is coming in handy right this moment. When they open the door, you wait till they’re a good distance inside before running, catching the door seconds before it closes. The moment you get inside, you duck behind the corner, waiting for them to get into the elevator before moving a muscle.

Before you knew it, you were climbing up the dozens of flights of stairs, not trying to beat them, but not wanting to give them too much time before you got there, so when you reached the top of the stairs and you heard the elevator ding from outside the door, you stopped. You mentally patted yourself on the back, noting how even after all those flights of stairs, you were not nearly as worn out as you thought you were going to be.

You slowly push the door open, trying not to make any noise as you do. You cringe as the door squeaks slightly, so you pause, listening for any change in their conversation. When there isn’t any, you continue on your way, walking down the hallway to the cortex, walking into the doorway and standing there till someone notices. You watch as Cisco turns around, stopping instantly when his eyes land on you.

“Who are you and how did you get in here?” He asks, and you can hear the anxiety in his voice. Watching Caitlin whip her head around to look at you, you slowly raise both hands to show that you don’t have any weapons, before taking a step into the Cortex.

“I can’t tell you who I am, if I do that’ll mess everything up.” You mumble the last bit, watching as the two people you know so well walk to stand in front of you.

“I’m here to warn you about something that happens in the future. Something terrible.” You explain, holding back the urge to tackle either of them in a hug or seem too comfortable in the place you knew so well.

“So you’re saying you’re from the…” Cisco pauses for a moment.

“Future?” Caitlin mumbles, finishing Cisco’s sentence. You nod, watching as Cisco’s face turns from one of confusion to one of excitement. You laugh slightly, as he turns to Caitlin, freaking out over the fact that Barry isn’t the only one who can time travel.

“So does that mean you’re a speedster too?” He asks excitingly, but you quickly shake your head no, stopping that theory quickly.

“Anyway, back to the whole reason I’m here. This has got to be quick, because the longer I’m here, the longer the timeline get’s messed up, so take notes, I’m only explaining this once.” You joke, knowing the explanation isn’t really that long.

“In the year 2026, a deadly virus breaks out in Central City. It wipes out a ton of the population, spreading easily and quickly. I’m here to warn you guys so you can make a cure before it happens.” You explain, reaching into your jacket pocket to pull out five vials. You hand them to Caitlin, watching as she backs away as you try to place them in her hand.

“You aren’t going to get infected unless you ingest this stuff, so just wear gloves and be careful. If someone does get infected, you’re going to need to isolate them so it doesn’t spread.” The two of them nod shakily, grabbing the vials from your hand and quickly placing them on the desk.

“Anything else?” Caitlin asks, sitting down in the chair.

“If you ever see me later on, act like you’ve never met me before, okay? And if anyone asks? Just call me a warning sign.” They quickly nod, you smiling and cheekily winking before turning to head out, only to run into the one person you didn’t want to see. You freeze as he comes around the corner, watching as he stops and stares at you, before looking behind you at Cisco and Caitlin.

“Who’s this?” He asks, cautiously walking around you and towards them. You just stare at him as he passes, your eyes beginning to tear up again as you see him again. The whole world seems to move in slow motion as you turn to walk away again, the sound of Cisco and Caitlin explaining the situation as vaguely as possible sounds far away as you make it to the elevator.

The moment the elevator gets to the bottom, you rush outside of the building. When you get outside, you break. You slide down the wall as you start to sob, trying to be as quiet as possible even though no one can see nor hear you. You hate crying anymore, it makes you feel weak, but you allow yourself this. You had never anticipated the pain of seeing Barry again.

You don’t let yourself cry for long, quickly wiping your tears and getting up off the ground. You stumble slightly when you stand up, but you begin the walk back to your ship, which doesn’t take nearly as long as you wanted it to. As you climb onto your ship, you collapse into the chair, sighing before asking the AI to make a route to Central City, 2027.

“Let’s hope this worked.” You mumble, closing you eyes and waiting for the feeling of time jumping that you’ve learned to love.


	2. Recovery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Did warning your friends help or hurt? How will you deal with this new universe?

    You sit in the pilot’s seat, your eyes close as you take a deep breath in, opening your eyes  before standing up from the chair, spinning in place and walking down the hallway. You mentally prepare yourself the whole walk to the door, not knowing what you were going to see, or what had become of the world, you just hoped with everything that you had that it turned out okay. That Caitlin and Cisco had developed a cure for the virus. That you would walk out to see the Central City you knew and loved.

When you reached the doorway, the fear had set in. What if it didn’t work? What if they couldn’t reach a cure yet? I mean, yeah, you had given them over 11 years to develop the cure, but then you realized that maybe they hadn’t had the supplies. If they couldn’t develop a cure in the year 2027, what had made you think they could in 2016? You mentally face palmed yourself at that thought, trying to figure out when you had become so stupid, but you took a deep breath, letting it out before running your hand over the handle.

What you saw had brought you to tears. Made you sink down to your knees, overcome in emotion with the city in front of you. As you let out a sob, you look up at the buildings you know, the ones that you’ve lived with for over 20 years. It took you a while to calm down, as you sat there and just stared at the skyline. That was one thing that has never changed when the city was infected, the sky. It was always the bright and beautiful blue that it had always been, infected or not.

When you stood, wiping your tears, the smile had finally sprawled over your face. It had worked. The bright and intact buildings that you had remembered from before were there again. As you stepped off the ship, you walked towards your car, climbing in it and driving straight to S.T.A.R Labs to tackle your friends in a hug. You hadn’t even thought about Barry yet, the overwhelming happiness of the city and everyone being okay had been enough for you. So when you pulled into S.T.A.R. Labs, you smiled as you noticed your parking spot was empty.

As you climb out of the car, walking towards the doors, you smile as you remember what had happened just a few moments ago. Well, just a few moments ago for you. You remember sneaking in, climbing up the stairs, and the terrified face Cisco had when he noticed the intruder. As you walk into the elevator, you try to hide the smile on your face, however, it’s not really working. As you step into the hallway, you notice you start to walk faster, almost running before you realized and slowed down, taking a deep breath before turning the corner into the Cortex.

The moment you lay eyes on Cisco though, the last few moments are out the window as you run up and hug him, taking him off guard but he just laughs and hugs you back. As you pull away, you turn slightly, and that’s when you see him. Barry. Your Barry alive, healthy, walking. So you run, jumping straight into his arms and hugging him. He laughs, hugging you back and looking over your shoulder at Cisco. Cisco just shrugs before turning back around and continuing to do whatever he was doing.

“What’s got you so happy?” Barry questions as you feet touch the floor again, although you don’t let him move from your arms. You smile up at him, staring into his blue eyes as he just smiles back, though you notice the slight confusion in his face.

“I’m just really happy to see you. I’ll explain it later.” You whisper, before pulling him down into a passionate kiss, letting all the pain of missing him drift away as you finally hold him in your arms again. He pulls away and smiles at you, laughing lightly before grabbing your hand and pulling you out of the cortex and into the hallway.

“Seriously though, what’s up. You act like you haven’t seen me in years.” He mumbles, staring down at you as you sigh, leaning against the wall.

“I kinda, maybe, changed the timeline just a little…” You sheepishly say, ending the sentence with a slight, nervous smile. You accept defeat though as Barry’s eyes turn from one of confusion to one of anger.

“What do you mean you changed the timeline y/n? What exactly did you change?” He questions, his arms crossed as he slightly glares at you from across the hall.

“Let’s just say, that before I changed the timeline, you and half the city were dead because of a virus that was spreading through the city, quickly. It was horrible Barry, it was killing people off way too quickly for my personal liking.” You explain, taking a step closer to him but stopping as he backed up. You watch as he groans, running his hands through his hair as he begins to pace.

“You do realize what you’ve just done right? You could’ve ruined everything by doing that y/n. Are you stupid?” He grumbles, shaking his head at you before walking into the cortex, ignoring you apologizing profusely. You sigh as you shake your head, tears welling up in your eyes as you run your hands over your face, groaning into them. What had you done?


	3. Renewal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After changing the timeline, will you be able to rekindle your relationship with your boyfriend?

    So, saving the world hasn’t exactly provided some of the results you thought it would, but it’s okay right? Barry will be over it in a few days and everything will go back to normal. That’s what you had been telling yourself since you left the lab last night. After telling Caitlin what had happened, she had offered you her guest bedroom until Barry had calmed down and the two of you had hopefully made up. That was before you and Caitlin had showed up to work the next day.

When you had walked in, Barry was sitting in a chair, not for long though. The moment he noticed you here, A heavy sigh left his lips and he went into the room with the Cosmic Treadmill. You let out a sigh also, looking at Cisco who just shrugged before walking into the observation room.

“I wish he would just let me explain.” You mumble, setting your things down on the desk before flopping down into the chair, your head instantly falling into your hands before sighing, shaking you head and scooting towards the desk, beginning to work. You watch as Caitlin nods her head in silent agreement from beside you. You has decided to not let whatever was happening with you and Barry to interfere with your work.

Your decision had worked for a while until Barry had walked back into the room and the tension had reappeared. You hadn’t stopped working, in fact you had just ignored him, although Cisco and Caitlin couldn’t handle it. They could feel the anger radiating off of Barry that was coming from the fact that you were in the same room. You had ignored him and everyone had slowly gone back to normal, well as normal as it could get anyway.

Then a metahuman alert had come in. You had helped slightly, pointing stuff out to Cisco but refraining from speaking to Barry over the coms. That worked fine until the only person who could explain how to stop them was you. Then you started to explain to him how to do it, but he wasn’t listening to you at all.

“Barry, are you even listening?” You asked, rolling you eyes when he just ignored you. You close your eyes, sighing, before opening them again and rolling closer to the microphone.

“Barry, I know you’re mad at me, okay? I shouldn’t have changed the timeline but I did, alright? Get over it. At least for right now, because if you don’t you’re going to get seriously hurt or someone else is.” You angrily say, listening as he sighs but agrees anyway, asking again what needed to be done. He follows your directions flawlessly, saving all the civilians and locking the meta up in the pipeline before appearing at the doorway.

“Hey y/n, can we talk?” He asks, nervously rocking on his feet and playing with his fingers. You nod, getting up from your seat and following him into the hallway.

“What’s up Barry?” You ask, a deep sigh coming out after it.

“I’m sorry, okay?” He mumbles. You barely catch it but instead of asking him to repeat, you just assume what he said.

“It’s fine Barry.” You mutter, turning to walk back into the Cortex, but you only get a few steps before his hand is wrapped around your wrist, stopping you from walking.

“Not for ignoring you today, for everything. What I said yesterday and what I did this morning.” He sighs, watching as you let out a breath before turning around to look at him, you grabbing his hand and intertwining your fingers with his.

“You understand why I did it, right?” You ask, watching him nod as he pulls you into a hug.

“That’s why I’m sorry. I had gotten so mad at you for changing the timeline, but I know that you wouldn’t have done it unless it was serious. Plus, I changed the timeline to just save my mom, let alone the whole city.” You shush him, before standing up on your tip toes and pulling him into a kiss. You break apart pretty quickly as Barry begins to smile.

“I can come home tonight, right?” You ask, Barry beginning to laugh as he nods, before grabbing your hand and pulling you back into the cortex. The smile on your face was brighter than it’s been in over 6 months, and it felt so good for everything to finally be okay again.


End file.
